WBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[eaglejacket1421]

Prediction Time!!!

#1 Roanoke vs. #8 Lynchburg – 1:00 p.m.
Roanoke will be looking to make an early statement. After dropping the unexpected game to W&L Coach Dunnigan realizes what her opponents' mentality could quite possibly be.

#4 Bridgewater vs. #5 Washington and Lee – 3:00 p.m.
I think I've said enough about both of these teams to publish a short story.

#2 Randolph-Macon vs. #7 Eastern Mennonite – 6:00 p.m.
It's Amanda Hiltunen and Lindsey Riesbeck's senior season. I doubt they'll let it slip away against the Royals. (With that said, they can NOT look over this team. If EMU somehow find a way to play the way they were at the beginning of the year - this could be trouble.)

#3 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #6 Guilford – 8:00 p.m.
I generally HATE picking all of the top seeds, but I don't see Guilford pulling off the miracle twice.

Second Round Matchups with these winners:

Roanoke vs. Bridgewater
Roanoke has won this battle twice already this season. Beating a team three times is one of the most difficult tasks in basketball.

Randolph-Macon vs. Virginia Wesleyan
What very well could have been the title game last year. This'll be a fun one to watch.

Finals:

Randolph-Macon vs. Bridgewater
RMC out for revenge from last year and they will have it. This team deserves the NCAA bid. The ODAC needs this team to grab it b/c they have the best chance to do something with it. So much talent and the last real shot for RMC to do something at the national scale for a couple of years.

[shsfan]

Dukeofargyle: To denigrate Coach Willi in this forum in the way that you have is not appropriate. Your words are somewhat cleverly crafted, but nevertheless make me suspect that you are a person who has never really interacted with the coach you are trashing???

[Bammer]

I did not mean to raise any disrespect toward Coach Willi.  My point was that BC had an OK season, not great for them.  The respect for BC on this board by many posters is quite high.  The opinion about a very similar W&L team does not seem to be any where as high.  Why?  This team did spank Roanoke (excuse was a meaningless game for Roanoke), beat RMU (excuse team was tired from travel and overlooked the game), beat VWC (not many VWC posters unknown excuse).  You said it eaglejacket that beating a team 3 times in a season was one of the hardest things.  Does this not apply to BC and W&L.  The Generals are a talented, well coached team that is young and getting better.  I guess that they will need a great ODAC toruney to get some people on their side.  Even if BC were to win Thursday, it has been a great season for the team that was picked ninth.  Great to get some discussion on this board.  I know that you guys will eventually see W&L as you should.  Get used to it, they will be a factor for this and the next 3 years.

[dukeofargyle]

Hmmmm...shs. You really need to calm down & reread the post.

There is no trashing on it at all & no disrespect to this great coach intended. If coach Willi had read it, she herself would have laughed!  I'm just taking some other posters' hyperbole and injecting some well needed humor into the board. (BTW, it was accepted as such by eaglejacket, for whom it was intended.)

I guess the more lighthearted posts are not acceptable to those who have no sense of humor, such as yourself. Lighten up!

[dukeofargyle]

"beating a team 3 times in a season was one of the hardest things.  Does this not apply to BC and W&L.  The Generals are a talented, well coached team that is young and getting better.  I guess that they will need a great ODAC toruney to get some people on their side"

Bammer, of course the rule of beating a good team 3 times in a season does not apply to W&L and BC – this well- respected rule can only apply to Roanoke & Bridgewater!

The overwhelming favorites of the ODAC seem to have been set for quite a few years, though. These teams (Roanoke, Randolph Macon and Bridgewater- in that order), can do no wrong & have some well - earned respect. Thus, there will always be handy excuses for any of their losses.

Even so, this board is singular in my experience because there is so little traffic or discussion on it during regular season from the fans of these 3 teams or the other well established teams. (notable exceptions: odacfan99, eaglejacket, emufan, bballmom & hasanova)

Take my experience: when there is a serious post, asking for opinions on which senior players the posters most respect, there is little to no response. When there are picks, the one to three posters who respond always go with the big three or the teams with the better stats.  When there is a provocative or humorous post- now there you can be assured of an outraged and one-dimensional self-righteous response, entirely lacking in any appreciation of the ridiculous.  As I said, the ODAC is a unique board.

BTW, don't worry about anyone being on the side of the Gennies. Whatever happens on Thursday, it has been an exciting ride, and a truly great season for our seniors to remember. W&L should have plenty of fans in the next few.

[hoopstermom]

.... beat RMU .......

Ugh...maybe nit picky, but can you PA LEASE get it right...It's RMC or even R-MC

There's still a few teams in the ODAC that have not obtained the University level unlike WAL   

[Bammer]

ODAC predictions:

Roanoke over Lynchburg
RMC over EMU
GC over VWC
W&L over BC

semifinals:
RMC over GC
W&L over RC

Finals
W&L over RMC   While Arial is a tough match up, Bolton is a tough match up also.  Ingram had a great game against them at home and will be the difference in this game.  Look for senior leadership from Ridenhour and Nadeau to steady the troops through the finals.

[Bammer]

Love to get Macon fans upset so sometimes I just throw in U to see if they are paying attention.  This is basically pay back for saying after a win they would get on the bandwagon and then continue to pick against the Generals.  Also pay back for disrespecting the 3 win rule in the BC-W&L game.

[whitecaylxx]

dukeofargyle - I'd have to say you did sound a tad mean-spirited about Coach Willi.  I think you and Bammer need to look at it from a different perspective.  Posters aren't necessarily choosing the General players performance over the Eagle players'.  Perhaps they are going with Coach Willi's savvy and basketball acumen.

[dukeofargyle]

One Last Time...

"Perhaps they are going with Coach Willi's savvy and basketball acumen."

--both of which qualities in this coach, has my full respect, I can assure you.

It was not intended to be 'about' her at all; as I said: it was intended only to lampoon all the hyperbole surrounding her postseason game - which I admit is sure noteworthy.

Sometimes it's difficult in emails, texts or posts to a forum to perceive intent or implication, but this one was so very far out that it would be obvious to most people that it was utterly ridiculous. 

Now - I am absolutely done with this subject.

Too bad many more thoughtful comments & topics do not receive much attention on this forum, but at least this more humorous post drew some life into this board-   

[2RMCFans]

WOW, maybe we are late to the game here but just noticed that R-MC's Amanda Hiltunen is a candidate for the 2009 Jostens Award!  Way to go, Amanda, you are truly a class act, a terrific student and most deserving of such an award.

I hope she knows how proud the entire R-MC community is of her and how thankful we are that she stayed "local" for her college experience.

Congratulations, Amanda, and GO JACKETS!!!!

[eaglejacket1421]

"I did not mean to raise any disrespect toward Coach Willi.  My point was that BC had an OK season, not great for them. The respect for BC on this board by many posters is quite high.  The opinion about a very similar W&L team does not seem to be any where as high.  Why?  This team did spank Roanoke (excuse was a meaningless game for Roanoke), beat RMU (excuse team was tired from travel and overlooked the game), beat VWC (not many VWC posters unknown excuse).  You said it eaglejacket that beating a team 3 times in a season was one of the hardest things.  Does this not apply to BC and W&L.  The Generals are a talented, well coached team that is young and getting better.  I guess that they will need a great ODAC toruney to get some people on their side.

BC had an OK season, yes. Just like in years past when Coach Willi coached her way to tournament title runs. whitecaylxx has it right: "Posters aren't necessarily choosing the General players performance over the Eagle players'.  Perhaps they are going with Coach Willi's savvy and basketball acumen." That is exactly what I have been saying.

People who do not have a personal tie to W&L has no real reason to "be on their side". They have not proven themselves... yet. No one is saying they can't or won't. No one is playing favorites. Put your objective hat on for a minute and think about this situation in pure basketball terms. That's what I, and posters like myself, try to do when making picks and determining sleeper teams, ect.

As far as the "excuses" go - no one is making excuses. I raised a HUGE question mark when W&L took down RMC earlier this year, and Bammer's reply was - "Eaglejacket - I am new to ODAC bball but could RMC problem be that they were tired from traveling."... That was the answer to the question raised. We try to speculate on why one team beats another, but beyond stats everything else we say is speculation. No one can pin point a reason, but we do the best we can to keep Division III women's basketball a sport people care about. If no one's blogging, speculating, and trying to pinpoint reasons, people question the legitimacy of the sport. If no one posts it gives the women basketball haters ammunition that "no one cares." Also, if you only post positive things about one team, no one can take the posts as seriously as someone who looks at things objectively.

duke- I understood what your post was entailing. I spelled it out just in case there was confusion amongst other posters. Honestly, my "hyperbole" is well warranted and in good company considering the glorification of all things W&L. Figured I'd balance out the scales with some other well-deserving teams.

[eaglejacket1421]

Huge congratulations to Amanda for that. Her stat sheet along with her genius-status GPA means she's not just a candidate, but a serious candidate with a pretty decent shot at being the second Yellow Jacket in less than 5 years. That always helps with recruiting and the image of the college overall. Randolph-Macon doesn't just recruit spectacular athletes, they also focus a lot on academic integrity and character. I have my fingers crossed that she can bring that trophy to Crenshaw.

[dukeofargyle]

Good to see some new posters on this forum, 2RMCfans.

eaglejacket:
"Also, if you only post positive things about one team, no one can take the posts as seriously as someone who looks at things objectively."

Just for accuracy's sake, I'd like to note that last year I posted that I was a great fan of RMC guard Amanda Hiltunan's play. I was also a big supporter of Bridgewater going into the NCAA tournament.
Also, although no one responded, I recently posted that Hiltunan (along with other notable non-W&L seniors) was one the most exceptional players I have seen in this game and that the loss of a player of her caliber to graduation will certainly be felt by this team.

In any case, well-earned props again go out to her if she gets the Jostens Award. She is the real deal in every way. If she wins it, this award couldn't go to a finer young lady.

[eaglejacket1421]

Anybody else as excited for the ODACs as I am? I can't wait to see how everything plays out. There are tons of story  lines to be hashed out and I have a feeling this year won't disappoint.

Any way to listen live online?